20/08/2026
🐴❤️ Of all the street art I’ve photographed over the years, this mural might have the most extraordinary and moving backstory of any of them.
This is Peyo, painted by 𝗦 𝗔 𝗧 𝗥 in Calais.
Once a performance horse, Peyo began displaying an extraordinary sensitivity towards people who were physically or emotionally vulnerable. Today, alongside his trainer Hassen Bouchakour, he visits patients in hospital, particularly those receiving palliative and end-of-life care.
What makes his story even more remarkable is that Peyo appears to choose the patients himself. He will stop outside a particular room, sometimes lifting a leg to signal that he wants to enter, then quietly remain with that person. Medical staff have described the calming effect his presence can have on patients experiencing pain, fear and distress. 🖤
Peyo has also been described as autistic, with unusual neurological activity that has attracted the attention of doctors, veterinarians and researchers. Whatever science ultimately discovers about him, the relationship he seems able to form with people at their most vulnerable is extraordinary.
There’s something incredibly powerful about seeing that story translated onto a wall. A horse whose work is essentially about presence, comfort and human connection, monumentalised above the city where he does it.
Beautiful work by 𝗦 𝗔 𝗧 𝗥, created for Calais Street Art Festival, organised by Les Ateliers du Graff « LAG » , and inspired by Les Sabots du Coeur - HassenPeyo and Hassen Bouchakour. 🐴❤️
Swipe for the series ↔️
📍Calais, France
📸 Photography: H a n n a h J u d a h
